Our son....the sailor.....

Hours after my last post, the terrible twos hit the Greer household : ) Papa and I experienced our first full blown temper tantrum from my dear, sweet little boy. I am not sure what set him off, but he was MAD. I am talking crying, screaming and kicking his legs all while he stood on his head. It would have been pretty entertaining if I were not Mommy and didn't have to worry about what happens if this becomes a habit! Thank goodness that has been the only one. I am crossing my fingers that it was just a one off. Pretty Pretty Please!!!

Ethan also picked up another habit that I am hoping doesn't stick around. On Wednesday night at dinner, he dropped the F Bomb. Yes....that one. When it came out of his mouth, Eric, Nana, and I just stared at him dumbfounded. "Did he just say what I think he said??" I assure you he has never heard that in this house or any house he has gone to. I was hoping it was another one off, but he quickly said it 3 or 4 times the next morning when we got him out of bed. Finally at lunch we figured out what he was trying to say - Frog or Fork. Apparently he is still honing his fine Tennessee accent! We have been working really hard on his pronunciation of frog and fork. When we dropped him off at the church nursery, I did a quick scan for any frogs or forks just in case ; ) We weren't kicked out of church, so I am guessing he kept his little sailor mouth in check. Whew!

Summer Fun

I realize with all our drama, it has been a while since I have given just an update on Ethan and Ella. They are doing so great. They love Summer and all the activities that go along with it. They love to go "side" and play. Ella could run around all day in the backyard....literally. She never slows down! Ethan, on the other hand, will run around for a bit, then likes to go sit in his rocking chair and chill. After dinner last week, Eric and I took them to go swing for a little bit. That has to be their absolute favorite activity. I wish I could still take them on walks and do it every day. Next year we will look into putting a swingset in the backyard.

This has to be my favorite age yet. Yes they are getting close to the dreaded "terrible twos," but along with the stubborness has come such amazing little personalities. Ella is so full of love. She give nice hugs and sweet little kisses that can put a smile on anyone's face. She still loves to read. She has also gotten into playing with her baby doll. She is already quite the little Mommy. I think she will want to help a lot when Peanut comes along. Of course that will be after she gets over the initial shock and anger of yet another child that will take the spotlight from her a bit!

Ethan is such a sweet little boy. He is a little more stingy with his smooches, but he loves to snuggle. My favorite part of the day is when he wakes up and like to cuddle in the rocking chair for a little bit while he wakes up. He is like a little monkey wrapped around me. Ethan has really gotten into playing with blocks now. He really likes anything that you have to put together. And the more meticulous the better for him! Maybe we have a future engineer on our hands.

They both are extremely verbal. I have quit keeping track of their words because they have so many. Ella is a little parrot. She will say just about anything you ask her too. Her favorite phrases now are "Oh no! My gosh!" and "I get it" (which really means you get it for me!) Ethan has really caught up to Ella. That is really saying a lot! He doesn't speak in sentences or phrases as much as Ella, but he has close to as many words. His favorites are Elmo, Oscar, Car, Choo Choo, and of course Block.

They have been so easy going about everything going on the past few weeks. I guess all they know is that they get to see their Nana & Papa and Mimi and Pa Pa more often. More love and attention for them, so all the better! We are so fortunate that our moms have been able and willing to come and help so much. We are just so thankful for each day that we have been able to all stay at home together : )

Up and down and Up again!

The last week has been a long one. Since my cervix shortened again last week, I was all but convinced that the same would happen again this week. There were a couple of sleeplessness nights as I sat up and thought about being away from Ethan and Ella. One night I even got up and wrote out the various lists I had running through my head.....their daily schedule, what they eat, groceries we have on hand, and of course my hospital packing list. It made me feel better to at least be prepared for the worst.

Yesterday mom (aka Mimi) came over to go to the doctor and Ultrasound with me. She was really excited because she had never been to an Ultrasound before. After going back and forth, I finally decided to pack an overnight bag for the hospital. Well apparently the combination of Mimi and an overnight bag brought us good luck. Peanut looked great and my cervix actually lengthened 5 mm! I am almost back in the normal range! We are thrilled. We are going to just keep doing what we have been doing and hopefully we can just keep buying time. For the first time, I think there may be a chance we can avoid the hospital or at least maybe it won't be a long stay. Thanks to everyone for your prayers. They are definitely what have gotten us through this so far. Keep em coming please. I am almost 27 weeks, so we need another 10 weeks or so : )

Another week bites the dust!

Operation STAY AT HOME Mom was a success for another week. Yesterday I had my Ultrasound, cervix check, and OB visit for Baby Peanut. The good news is that Peanut looked GREAT! According to the U/S tech, he had a "beautiful" heart. She did see some speeding up and slowing down, but no irregular beats and nothing structurally wrong. He was such a good little boy during the scan. He posed just the way she needed to in order to get all the angles to do her analysis. We also learned something new about our precious baby. Apparently he has freakishly large feet : ) Considering I am a 5 and a half and Eric is an 11, that is pretty funny. Where did the clown feet come from? The U/S tech continually made reference to how big they are and kept going back to them. They are already measuring 5 cm long. Looking at my ruler now it doesn't look that big, but I guess he also is supposed to be baking for another 3 months!

Which brings me to the not so good part of the visit. Unfortunately, despite the changes we have made around home, my cervix is still continuing to shorten. I am not at the point where they will order bed rest or put me in the hospital yet. It is pretty unnerving because it could happen at any time. We are very thankful though that I have had the last couple of weeks to get mentally prepared and get things in order around the house for when it happens. I will continue to go to the doctor and High Risk place for ultrasounds each week to be checked. They will also give me a test called fFE test that tests for me going into Preterm Labor. If I ever test positive for that, then that earns me a "Get into Centennial" pass immediately. This time they will administer steroids immediately to help Baby Peanut's lungs mature. We are a bit disheartened at the idea of having another premature baby. We are so thankful our experience with Ethan and Ella ended so well but also appreciate that isn't always a guarantee. We were so looking forward to seeing what a "normal" delivery would be like. Getting to see your baby before they are 24 hours old....getting to hold your baby before they are a few days old....getting to hold your baby more than a few minutes a day...getting to take your baby home with you when you leave the hospital. Oh I am tired just thinking about it. We will pray for the best and hopefully Peanut will wait as long as possible before he makes his entrance into this world. Every day in my belly is 3 days less in the NICU!

Happy 4th of July!!

We had a great 4th of July. It was pretty low key. We just grilled some hamburgers and hot dogs with Mimi and Papa. We hadn't seen them in a couple of weeks because they were traveling in Texas. Ethan and Ella were anxious to catch up on their Muchos Smooches from them!

It was a late night. We let them eat cupcakes at the time they generally are turning in for the night. Then we headed out back to watch the free fireworks from the neighbors. Ethan wasn't at all interested in anything but laying his head on Mimi's shoulder. Ella, on the other hand, said "WOW!! WOW!!" to just about every one she saw. I was afraid she might think this is what goes on every night after they go to bed and revolt tonight : )

Operation: STAY AT HOME Mom!!

So in the last week since our scare at the ultrasound, we have implemented Operation STAY AT HOME mom. We have made some pretty big changes in the Greer Household to try to keep me at home and off bed rest for as long as possible.

As much as I thought I had cut out, we found there was a lot more we could do. I have quit carrying the kids around as much as I used to and I rarely pick them both up at the same time. But as any mommy of toddlers know, you still do it a lot. Well no more. I have just about cut it out completely. It has been tough. Especially since Ella is a little monkey and will literally climb up my legs. I can tell that change has made a big difference because my back pain has all but disappeared. I have also quit bending over and picking up things so much. One of the nurses told me that was one of the worst things I can do. I do that constantly throughout the day! I have tried to cut that out too. That has been even more tough. Eric got me this funny contraption for me to pick up things without bending over that old people use. I call it the "Claw." As much as I made fun of it, it really has been very handy. I was able to pick up 3 big mixing bowls at once with it! I used to also take the babies on a couple mile walk a few times a week. I really miss this. They really enjoyed it and it was great exercise for me. I guess we will just pick that back up in October! The other main change we made was me laying down when the babies take their naps. That is usually when I fly around trying to get other things done. Now I lay them down and go and lay down in bed too. I have to admit, this has been pretty nice.

We are so fortunate we have such a wonderful family. Nana (Eric's mom) pretty much spent most of the last 2 weeks here helping as Eric and Ethan healed and I tried to take it easy. Next week, Mimi and Papa will be back in town, so I am sure they will be able to help too. We are all going to be so spoiled before Peanut comes!

All of the adjustments have been worth it. My ultrasound yesterday was a good one. Peanut's heart looks good. And my cervix hasn't gotten any shorter which we count as a good report. Hopefully, if we keep it up, then we can push off bed rest for a long time or (knock on wood) permanently. Thank you all for your offers for help and mostly for your prayers!